Sarah Ann Wilcox Sampler WIP Week 5

Another week means another progress picture! I have really enjoyed stitching this one. It has just the right combination of ease and challenge. I also like the use of the over-dyed cotton threads that I've been using as well. (See the first update for the list of threads.) 

This is where I was at by the end of Week Five: 

I'll be doing the one-over-one stitches very last, mostly because they are tedious.

Here is a close-up of the lowest band I've completed. It has a combination of stitches, including satin and eyelet. I love how the satin stitches show off the over-dyed characteristics of the threads! I've really enjoyed seeing how that came out!

William + Kate Royal Wedding FO

I got this cute little pattern from Wee Little Stitches on Etsy. The shop has all kinds of cute little geeky cross-stitch patterns for the geeky stitcher and I LOVE them! (And I'm hoping for a Trek: TOS one day!) I've bought a few of her patterns, and they're quick little stitches that are a nice break from the more intricate ones I've been doing lately. 

This is the Royal Wedding pattern. I stitched it on evenweave I dyed with RIT purple. I was looking for something that was a nice royal hue, and what is more royal than purple? I've dyed a few pieces to date, and I really like the variety I can give myself, because it's very hard to find different colors that aren't the usual ivory and white. 

So, this is the finished product. I made a few changes, such as the hair (I miscounted stitches) and Wills has fewer buttons than the pattern. That's mainly due to the fact that I am incapable of making a demure French Knot. 

Sarah Ann Wilcox Sampler WIP Week 4

This is actually two weeks worth of progress because I skipped a Week 3 progress picture. I also ran out of thread, like the red, brown, and olive, so I had to wait until I was able to get to the needlework shop to pick up some more.  

I was able to finish the house (except for that one window!), and the band of flowers. I actually made a mistake on that row, but it's not as visible as I thought it was. It can probably be picked up on a larger picture. 

The band two below the flowers is going to be  a mixture of eyelet and satin-stitch.

I'm not too worried about the mistakes since this is a reproduction sampler and some of it is a bit "off." It's not symmetrical, so as long as I can fix the mistake through other means, I don't see a point in pulling out my hard work! Besides, this mistake will make the sampler completely mine.

I also love how the over-dyed aspect of the thread comes out in the satin stitch. The directions call for the stitches to be one-thread thick, but because I'm using a larger size cloth (32 ct/inch v. 35 ct/inch) I feel that using two threads gives it a finer look.